It could be better…

We had something we had to see to last Saturday morning on the other side of town so we drove all the way there and in the meantime, I heard that there was a stall here (2.265245,111.859945) selling claypot rice. There used to be a stall at the coffee shop at the back of this complex selling that a long time ago. It was really very nice, as good as any that I had had elsewhere but the problem was it was not open for business on a regular basis and I would not want to drive there only to find it closed. The lady at the stall next to it told me that the guy had a full-time job and did it only to pass the time whenever he felt like it so she did not know when he would be around and when he would not.

They have a whole lot of food stalls here at the front section of the complex now…

…and this is the one selling claypot rice and a whole lot of other claypot stuff…

I had the chicken with mushroom (RM6.00)…

…which was nice – like soy sauce chicken served in a claypot of rice and a bit of greens by the side.

My girl had the pork (RM7.00)…

…and I did try a bit of the meat. It had a stronger five-spice fragrance and did taste a little bit better than the chicken.

My missus had the chicken with salted fish (RM7.00)…

…and she said she could detect the presence of some bits of salted fish but there was very little of it.

Well, all in all, I would say they were all right – I would not mind having that sometimes for a change but definitely not when I have to drive so far out of my way. Sadly, I do not know of any other place in town that serves this so I guess if we want a really nice one, we would have no choice but to cook our own – with the lap cheang (Chinese sausage) and the long kiam hu (salted fish) and all. Perhaps I should give it a try one of these days…

21 thoughts on “It could be better…”

I like that all your claypot rice has vegetables. Here no vegetables at all inthe claypot. Nothing green inside.

Yes, always good to have a bit of vegetables, not all meat and carbs. Like those chicken rice and roast meat places, sometimes, I do wish they would be a little more generous with their cucumber and give a little more than just two miserably thin slices.

It’s been a long time since I’ve had claypot rice. I particularly like the sticky bits of rice around the edges of the pot – a bit like the crust in a paella pan.

Never tried paella – the one that had it on the menu but was out of the rice when I went to try…has closed down. 😦

My girl likes claypot rice, I’m just ok with it – like it, enjoy it but will not go out of my way for it but I have not had it for a very long time so I wouldn’t mind having it, if I can get a really good one around here.

When I see the word clapypot rice, automatically I will think of your wifey’s rice – chicken & salted fish claypot rice.. Never thought of pork or anything else (although I love fatty pork), I will only eat the chicken claypot rice, haha… There’s a restaurant near my mum’s place selling Teochew food.. Their claypot chicken rice and braised duck+salted vege rice = best in the world 😛

She cooked that before? Don’t think so, must have been somebody else. Pork with salted fish, yes…but never in claypot rice. We wouldn’t need to go round looking for a good one if she did. I’ve tried salted veg duck before – nice, but I do prefer stewed (with eggs) and roast.

Look good. Glad you found a place selling claypot rice in Sibu to satisfy your craving. ^^

It has been long since I have one.

I think in my case, a lot longer. None here since that stall that would open as and when the guy felt like it, not anymore – gave up already. No other place here except at one hotel restaurant where I had this once but that one was not all that nice, all right – chicken…more or less like these that we had but a lot more expensive, very much more. 😦

Oh? I did not realise that this is not a general Malay term. (Googled and found that it refers to the rice cooked in the protected pitcher plant species)

We used it at home to refer to the rice crust at the bottom of the pot, those days of firewood and kerosene stoves long before they were rice cookers. My mum used to eat that – said it was very nice though thinking back, I wonder if it was her selflessness, eating those things that everybody else would not want to eat.

Not sure if it was derived from the mispronunciation of nasi keras (hard rice) or whether it was a term in Sarawak Malay – hence, the pronounced k at the end.

Oh so there is nasi kera for rice cooked in the protected pitcher plant. Now I know. Kerak means crust so the rice crust at the bottom of the claypot rice is kerak nasi. That I know so I was surprised that you refer to kerak nasi as nasi kera.

Ok, got it! Gee!!! Imagine all these years, I’ve been thinking that nasi kerak or kerak nasi means monkey rice when in actual fact, kerak refers to the crusty rice at the bottom of the pot. Ah well! Never too old to learn.

Those pitcher plants are also known as monkey pots, aren’t they? They’re protected…and I can’t understand why there are people selling that…and people buying and eating them too!

According to wiki the pitcher plants are also called monkey cups because monkeys have been observed to be drinking from them. I have seen tiny ones being sold in garden centers here. Let me look further for their protected status.

I love claypot rice! But I don’t know how to cook it in a claypot and will use the rice cooker instead hee..hee…

I have a claypot, Japanese…a big one so I can use it to cook, no need to do it using my rice cooker but frankly, I do not think I could detect a difference in anything cooked in a claypot – if it’s nice, it’s nice. The only thing is I guess it keeps the heat longer and what’s in it may become a little nicer especially if it’s a soup dish or some stew. I wouldn’t know – all I know is to just…eat.

The claypot rice looks very yummylicious! Our price here is slightly more expensive… but as long as it is tasty, it doesn’t matter…

Yes, that is most important. Must taste great, never mind a little more expensive. These did not have much in it, so cheaper and of course, the taste was not as great as some that I had before so I would not think I would be going back for more.